Tire-inflater for automobiles.



H. P. MAXIM.

TIRE INFLATEB FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION IILBD JULY 13, 1909.

Patented Ma;' 3, 1910.

WITNESSES: m/mvros 01am 112% 4M 10 -N Z H. P. MAXIM, TIRE INFLATBR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

' APPLICATION FILED JULY13, 1909.

Patented May 3, 1910.

2 BHEETB-SHEET 2- WITNESSES UNITED STATES HIRAM PERCY MAXIM, F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

TIRE-INFLATER ron au'romonrnns,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 13, 1908; Serial No. 507,432. I

To all whom it may concern: .4

Be it known that I, 'HIRAM Planer MAXIM, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in YTire-Inflaters for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereot.

It has been proposed heretofore to provide for the inflation of the tires of an automobile by the burned gases, undera greater or less degree of compression, from the explosion cylinders of the internal combustion engineby WhlCll the automobile is driven,

the gas being cooledand having its pressure equalized betweenthe engine cylinders and the tire. In-o-rder that the pressure of the gas so supplied to the tires may be high enough to properly inflate the tires, it is necessary that, during the operation of inflating, the engine shall be running under a load, the pressure developed when the engine is running without a load being in suflicient. It is, of course, impracticable to inflate the tires when the automobile is running, and it is also impracticable to operate the engine under a brake when the clutch 1s open.

It is the object of the present invention to. provide means whereby the inflation can be carried on at the requisite pressure while the automobile is standing still and to that end provision is made for utilizing the burned gas from one of the several cylinders of a multiple cylinder engine while ignition in the remaining cylinders of the engine is cut ofl, so that such remaining cylinders offer the necessary resistance or create the' necessary load against which the cylinder in which the explosions continue must operate in, order that thezwburned gases may have the necessary pressure I The invention will be more fully explained hereinafter with reference to-- the accompanying drawings in which it is illustrated and in which- Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing an automobile engine, a portion of one of the automobile wheels with its tire, a portion of the dash, and the connections from one of the cylinders to the tire. v Fig. 2 is a detail view of the check valve applied to the' cylinder which supplies the gas for inflating; Fig.

43 is detail end view of WhlCh isshown in side-elevation in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is aview, partly in elevation 'and partly diagrammatic, showing means for cutting out ignition of the cylinders which do not supply gasfor inflating.

The engine with which the invention is employed may have two or any greater number of cylinders. That shown in the present drawings has four cylinders a, a, a? and a, to each of which the explosive mixture may be supplied in any suitable manner, while the force developed in each is applied to the propulsion of the automobile through the crank shaft in any usual orsuit-able manner. From one of the cylinders, as a, the burned gases may be conducted to the tires of the automobile, one of which is shown at b, with a portion of the wheel 0. It will be obvious that the connection between the cylinder and the tire might be accomplished in any con- -veuient manner. As shown, there is conncctcd to the cylinder, preferably through a cut-off valve 41:, a check valve (2, which may be of any suitable construction, as shown, for example, in Fig. 2, this check valve serving to prevent the return of the gases under pressure from the. conduit or reservoir. From the check valve connection is made to a cooling coil in which the temperature of the gases is sufficiently reduced by radiation before they enter the tire, such coil also Patented May 3, 1910.

the cooling coil servingas a reservoir or pressure equalizing tomobile. As shown, it issecured directly to the dash f, the end of the pipe being carried through the dash and fitted with a cutoff valve 9 from which connection'may be established to the tire of any one of the wheels through a suitable flexible hose 71-. The ignition of the charges in the several cylinders may be efiected by any suitable devices. As shown a magneto i is connected through branches is, k, k and k with the spark .coils Z, Z, Z and 1 from which ,connection is made in the usual manner, through branches m, m, m and m to the i iters indicated at n, n, n and 723. The ran'ch is from the magneto is re resented asa continuous branch, it being t ereby intended to indicate that ignitionis continued .m the cylinder at when i 'tion is cut pit or distakes place in the cylinders a, a and a as of the engine through suitable cut-out switches 0, 0 and 0 which may be operated simultaneously by any suitable means, such as a bar 29 extended through the dash f and having a' handle During the ordinary operation of the engine in propelling the automobile, the switches 0, 0 and 0 are closed and ignition well as. in the cylinder (4, but when the auto mobile is standing still and it is desired to inflate any of the tires then, the driving clutch being open, ignition in the cylinders a, a and a is cut ofl or discontinued through the opening of the switches 0, 0 and 0. Ignition goes on in the cylinder at which operates as usual, but under the load or against the resistance created by the move ment of the pistons in the cylinders a, a and a and of the connected parts. Through the creation of such load or resistance, the cylinder a operates under such conditions that the pressure developed therein is sufliciently high to eflect the desired inflation.

It will be obvious that details of construction and arrangement may be varied to suit the structure of the particular auto-.

mobile or the convenience of the manufacturer and the user and that the present invention is not limited to such details.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with an internal combustion engine for an automobile having a plurality of cylinders, of means for conducting the burned gases from one of said cylinders to one or another of the tires to in flate the same, and means for cutting out ignition in all of the other cylinders of the engine during inflation.

2. The combination with an internal combustion engine for an automobile having a plurality of cylinders of means for conducting the burned gases from one of said cylinders to one-or another of the tires to in flate the same, means for cutting out ignition in all of the other cylinders of the engine during inflation and means for cooling the gases between the cylinder and the tire.

3. The combination with an internal combustion engine for an automobile having a plurality of cylinders, of means for conductin the burned gases from one of said cylin ers to one or another of the tires to in- 4:. The combination with an internal combustion engine for an aut'omobile'having a plurality of cyl1nders,'of means for conducting the burned gases from one of said cylinders to one or another of the tires to 1nflate the same, means for cutting out igni tion in all of the other cylinders of the engine during inflation, and means for cooling the gases between the cylinder and the tire and for equalizing the pressure of the gases between the cylinder and the tire.

5. The combination with an internal combustion engine for an automobile having a plurality of cylinders, of a pipe coil to receive the burned .gases from one of said cylinders, means to conduct the gases from said coil to one or another of the tires to inflate the same, and means for cutting out ignition in all of the other cylinders of the engine during inflation.

6. The combination with an internal combustion engine for an automobile having a plurality of cylinders, of a pipecoil to receive the burned gases from one of said cylinders, meansto conduct the gases, from said plurality of cylinders, of a pipe coil to receive the burned gases from one of said cylinders, means to conduct the gases from said coil to one or another of the tires to inflate the same, means for cutting out ignition in all of the other cylinders of the engine during inflation, and a shut-oit valve for the coil.

8. The combination with an internal combustion engine for an automobile having a plurality of cylinders, of a pipe coil to receive the burned gases from one of said cylinders, means to conduct the gases from said coil to one or another of the tires to inflate the same, means for cutting out ignition in all of the other cylinders of the engine during inflation, a check valve to prevent movement of the gases backward into the cylinder, and a shut-ofl valve for the coil. I

This specification signed and witnessed this 21st, day of May, A.. D. 1909.

HIRAM PERCY MAXIM. Signed in the presence of ELLA J. KRUGER, AMBROSE L. OSHEA. 

